Rita: My panic attacks over mum’s cancer
RITA Ora has revealed that she suffered panic attacks after she struggled to support her mother as she battled breast cancer.
Vera Sahatciu, 56, was diagnosed in 2005 aged 39 and had a partial mastectomy.
Singer Miss Ora said that as a teenager she experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as she tried to help her mother, who is a psychiatrist for the NHS. The 30-year-old, who has breached lockdown rules twice, said: ‘I felt a lot of responsibility to step up and become a strong teenager. I wanted to protect my mother.’
Miss Ora added that therapy and meditation helped her deal with her panic attacks. She said: ‘I am a big believer in therapy, certainly it has helped me a lot.’
She also revealed that her meditation teacher had told her to remember that ‘you are not your thoughts’.
She added: ‘It is something I have always thought about if I ever get into a state of worry.’
Speaking about her panic attacks, she told The Sun on Sunday: ‘When I was younger I didn’t know what a panic attack was. You can’t breathe, your chest feels tight, you lose your vision.’
Miss Ora had the hereditary breast cancer test and while it revealed she doesn’t have the gene, she still worries. And she is now encouraging women to get checked regularly. ‘There are loads of tutorials online which I have used,’ she said. ‘But you can also call your GP to ask.
‘Scans have dropped 80 per cent since Covid struck and a million women have not had any checkups. And some people are too afraid to go to hospital but you have to go and get checked.’
‘I wanted to protect her’